It’s a good start and a very positive tour from the boys, says Paras Mhambrey on U-19 Asia Cup win
India’s U-19 coach Paras Mhambrey is happy with his side, who won the 2019 edition of the Asia Cup, defending a paltry score of 106 in the final. After a successful first assignment in the role, the former Mumbai cricketer Mhambrey is now focused on preparing his side for next year’s World Cup.
After long-term association with the India A and U-19 teams, Mhambrey’s first project as head coach proved to be fruitful as India clinched the Asia Cup title by defeating Bangladesh in the final on Saturday. The head coach was particularly pleased with his bowlers’ performance at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, bowling out Bangladesh for 101 runs to win by five runs.
"It's a good start. I am quite happy with the way the boys played. Winning is one bit of it -- the way we won the final was fabulous. From the position where we were in, the bowlers did a fabulous job," Mhambrey told Sportstar on Sunday.
"We obviously did not get the total we wanted. The discussion all of us had in the dressing room was to go out and doing our best. We had to forget what had gone wrong and we had to focus on the job at hand,” he said.
After skipper Dhruv Jurel (33) and lower-order batsman Karan Lal (37) came up with useful contributions to help India cross the 100-run mark, it was Akash Singh who picked up three early wickets that gave India the real boost. Then, left-arm spinner Atharva Ankolekar returned with figures of five for 28 to lead India to victory.
“The idea was to pick up a couple of wickets and put the pressure on Bangladesh. That's exactly what happened. Pressure is funny. Different people respond differently under pressure. We thought let's put the pressure early and then see how the game progresses," Mhambrey said.
"In the first ten overs, we picked 4 wickets. In that sense, the pressure was on Bangladesh. Those were the totals where you didn't know whether to attack or be defensive. Bangladesh got caught in between. They lost wickets and our bowlers did really well. The best part is when you have four or five bowlers, one can have an off day. This was kind of a game where all the bowlers had their day. Everyone contributed," he continued.
With eyes set on the U-19 World Cup lined up for next year, the team's objective was to come up with a proper strategy. And so the unit was different from the side which travelled to England last month.
"We wanted to try different combinations. We had a different set of players here. In terms of temperament, it was a chance to see how this guys respond under pressure. A lot of things were achieved for us. In that sense, it was a very positive tour. We can monitor a lot in terms of fitness and recovery. That's what we will do, leading to the World Cup," Mhambrey added.
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